Historian Hanrahan awarded Rhodes Medal

Ashburton historian and author, Michael Hanrahan, has been awarded the Rhodes Medal by the Canterbury History Foundation.

It will be presented on Sunday.

Mr Hanrahan was the curator of the Ashburton Museum and has written several history books.

The A C Rhodes History Medal was established by a gift from Mr Paul and Mrs Sally Rhodes in memory of Paul’s father, Alfred Cecil Rhodes in 2001.

Cecil Rhodes was a respected businessman and community leader in Upper Riccarton, Christchurch, until his death in 1970.

The medal is to honour and recognise the work of a non-academic Canterbury historian “who has added significantly to our knowledge of the past or who has by various means advanced and popularised the subject of history in the wider Canterbury community”.

Mr Hanrahan, who retired from the museum several years ago, said he had worked with several former recipients of the medal, including Therese Angelo (2013) and John Wilson (2002).